Water Pump for 308 VH

[DerekP]

G'day all

I am going to change the water pump on my VH soon as the one currenlty on it looks like the original one,
(still painted blue!) and before I do I wanted to get some opinions. Is the the factory GMH pump the way to go or are there better, more efficient ones on the market out there that I should be considering? Any feedback would be grealty appreciated.

[ari666]

i have always though factory items would be better than anything aftermarket. having said that, waterpumps are 50 bucks from bursons, so even if it dies in a year its cheap enough to replace.

also there are two types of pump for the 308, long and short. i think they are idnetified by the type of fan you have so make sure you take note before ordering. the difference is in the pulley. the long one will hit the pump body if fitted to the short pump.

[DerekP]

So do you think the factory type performs effectively enough, or are there more performance based ones available? I ask as I have had no end of cooling problems.

Slap me if I ask stupid questions!!

[DANNY8]

If u want a "performance" pump you'll have to go electric. All the mechanical belt driven ones would be very similar I'd say. Apparently GMB ones use better seals then Silverline ones, that's wat I got told. But yeah now I just go the Repco ones which have GMB stamped in them anyway. Like wat Ari said, if they do bugger up ur only 50 bux out of pocket and an hour max to change it.

[ari666]

yeah i reckon stock pumps are ok. remeber you dont need the water pumping fast and hard, you just need it flowing at a rate which allows the block to cool and the radiator to do its job.

what sort of cooling problems? you can tell if your pump is dead by looking at the back of it. its hard to see on the car, you will need to get underneath and look at the base of the shaft housing. there is a little drain hole and if it has white crap coming out, then its dead.

[DerekP]

Overheats under load on warm / hot days - going up long hills or sitting in traffic and espaecially with the A/C on (i use the A/C because it surprisingly works really well!). I have a new three line radiator, had the clutch fan checked out and an over size auxillary electric condensor fan installed, all fairly recently. It seems to be doing the job OK but I have not had a chance to take it out for decent drive (mostly use the wife's Golf for running around) on a hot day so not sure if the new equipment is doing the job. The missus and I are thinking of going on a road trip down your way to visit friends and thought I'd change the water pump before hand in case the old one sh*t itself in the middle of nowhere - in the meantime I'll get underneath and check out that drain hole, cheers mate.